Best wake up light 2025: top sunrise lamps to help you wake up naturally

The best wake up lights wake you up naturally with the sun and your body's rhythms. Wake up lights or sunrise lamps do this by gradually brightening its light that mimics the rising of the sun, awakening you bit-by-bit. Most wake up lights have the option to add sounds towards the end of the cycle to make sure you're up when you need to be, and many come with a sunset cycle to help you wind down in the evening.

Some people find using a wake up light over a traditional alarm clock helps them start the day off feeling more alert and in a better mood. While a wake up light can be a great investment in your health and wellbeing, these aren't to be confused with SAD lamps – some sunrise lamps can be used for light therapy but if you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, you should consult our best SAD lamp guide instead.

To put together this best wake up lights guide, we've tested out a range of different wake up lamps from leading brands to see what they offer and how effective they are. Right now, our top pick for the best wake up light is the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300, thanks to its customisation options, design and sound features.

Read on for our top picks for the best wake up lights on the market right now.

The top three

Beth Girdler-Maslen

Beth Girdler-Maslen is Home Editor for T3, and has covered sleep and wellness for many years. She's a big fan of wake up lights and always has one (or two) in her house at all times, so she's the one to go to if you want tips and product recommendations on how to wake up more naturally.

Best wake up lights ranking 2025

The best wake up light overall

The best wake up light right now is the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300. The Bodyclock range from Lumie is a big player in the world of sunrise lamps, and although this isn't the fanciest of the line-up, it offers the best balance of features to price, in our opinion.

In our Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 review, our tester found the light effects soothing and natural, moving from dim red and to a warm yellow glow when it's time to get up. The sunset option is helpful for anyone who struggles to unwind, too. We appreciated that the display auto-dims based on how bright the room is, and switches off totally at night unless you set it otherwise. In terms of customisation options, you're spoilt for choice. For sunrise and sunset, you can adjust the duration (15-90 minutes), and explore any of an impressive range of wake up and sleep sounds (including, interestingly, 'goat') or the option to play FM radio instead. Like all the Bodyclock models, you can tap the top of the lamp to snooze it for 10 minutes.

So what are the down-sides? Like the rest of the range, the Shine 300 is operated by button rather than an app, and while it's nice to not have to download another thing to your phone, getting to grips with the control panel does feel fiddly and old-fashioned. For that reason, this isn't ideal for those who don't have a regular wake up time, because resetting it each night takes a lot longer than just using your phone alarm (you can set different alarm settings for weekdays vs weekends, however). You're also sacrificing some of the added extras that appear on pricier models – there's no low-blue light for bedtime, and no Bluetooth functionality, for instance.

However, it offers pretty much everything we think you need from a wakeup light (and a few more bits besides), without having to pay a premium for those features you don't necessarily need.

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The best multifunctional wake up light

The Beurer WL50 offers a good range of features for the price point. The morning and evening cycles work well, although the customisation options are a little limited. The cycle duration can be set to 10, 20 or 30 minutes (on the shorter side, but probably fine for most people) and there are only three alarm sounds. There's a tap to snooze option, and you can preset sunrise and sunset cycles in advance, if you like.

As well as working well as a wakeup and wind-down lamp, it also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker, FM radio, desk lamp or even mood light – ideal for people who don't want dozens of devices on their bedside table. Head to our Beurer WL50 Wake Up Light review for more info.

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The best budget wake up light

The cheapest sunrise lamp on our list, the battery powered Fitfort Alarm Clock Wake Up Light offers an impressive range of features considering its super-low price. In the morning, it gradually brightens from 10% to 100% across 30 minutes, and offers the reverse at the end of the day to help you get to sleep. During the night, the time display offers three settings: light, dim and off. There's also a snooze function, a reading light, an FM radio, six natural alarm sounds, and a choice of colours including green, red, blue, pink, orange and indigo.

And that's your lot, basically: this is certainly not the most advanced wake up light you'll find. Plus, the sound is low quality, and the buttons aren't the easiest to use in practice. That said, if you're looking for something basic, this still represents an incredible bargain in our eyes.

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The best looking wake up light

The Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB is the priciest and most feature-rich option in the range. This isn't just a wake up light; it's also a light and sound machine, a DAB radio and Bluetooth speaker. Like the more basic Bodyclock Shine 300 at the top of our list, it sports a high-quality design that feels less like an obtrusive clinical accessory and more like a natural part of your bedroom décor. And also like the Shine 300, it's button- rather than app-operated, which is faffy if you have an irregular wake up schedule.

When it comes to the wakeup and wind-down functions, this sunrise lamp creates a genuinely lovely experience, with soothing light and sound functions and a plethora of customisation options. There are some differences in functionality here compared to cheaper models – this model has a low-blue light mode for the evenings, and offers 30+ sound options while the Shine 300 only has 15, for example.

However, the main points of difference are in the added extras, which include the ability to use it as a Bluetooth speaker (the sound is bright and pairing speedy), DAB radio (which sounds great when you find a station, but proved rather too location-dependent for the tester in our Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB review), and a USB port into which you can plug your phone to minimise bedside clutter. Whether those extras are enough to make you want to shell out the extra dosh for this range-topping model is up to you, but we'd probably only be swayed if we found it on sale.

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The best wake up light for sounds

If you're after a wake up light with plenty of sound options, the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light is a great choice. While it's designed for mothers and children, it can be used by anyone to take advantage of brilliant lights and sounds.

Speaking of sounds, the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light comes with over 30 high-fidelity sounds, including nature, fan sounds and soothing noises. It was one of the main highlights our tester flagged in our Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light review, although the seven light colours and wake up function was impressive, too.

The design and screen of the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light is similar to that of Lumie wake up lights, although the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light has a more affordable price tag. While the controls can be a bit fiddly, we were big fans of the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light.

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The best smart wake up light

The Philips Hue Twilight is one of the more recent launches in this guide, and shows that even wake up lights get the smart treatment. The Twilight connects to the Philips Hue app which unlocks loads of colours, scenes and routines, which really is the best part of the Philips Hue Twilight experience.

Compared to other wake up lights on this list, the Philips Hue Twilight is very strange looking. But it has lights both at the front and the back, and easy controls on the top of the lamp which makes it very simple to use. It's also very lightweight and can become part of your smart lighting ecosystem.

In our Philips Hue Twilight review, we did find that it didn't automatically set up a wake up schedule unless you manually did it yourself each night. This is a huge difference compared to other wake up lights and one we didn't particularly enjoy. It's probably more of a lamp and colour system than a wake up light but it can wake you up naturally... as long as you tell it to, of course!

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The best basic wake up light

The SmartSleep (previously called the Somneo) is a basic yet feature-packed model that works just as well for getting you off to sleep again at the end of the day. For mornings, you can choose how long your light takes to get to full brightness, as well as selecting your own maximum brightness from an impressive 25 levels. This granularity is great if you’re a light sleeper, or someone who's more sensitive to light in general. Audio is delivered in the form of built-in nature sounds, FM radio, or your own music player which you can connect via an AUX cable. Along with a sunset mode that's similar to the Lumie’s, the Somneo offers a light-guided breathing mode to promote pre-bed relaxation, giving you seven rhythms of light intensity or sound to follow.

There are a few nice touches in terms of user-friendliness, too. The touch display makes the SmartSleep easy to set up and adjust. The display brightness adjusts automatically to your room’s light (though you can adjust it manually, too). And if you get up in the middle of the night, you can tap the top of the lamp for a gentle red glow – just enough to see by without flooding the room with light. Our one criticism? The design, with its weird hole in the middle, is divisive. Philips describes it as 'sleek and stylish'; others may disagree, but we like it in our Philips SmartSleep review.

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The best budget wake up light and alarm

If you're looking for a wake up light that's simple and acts as a lamp and alarm, the Lumie Sunrise Alarm is the perfect option. At just £49.98, the Lumie Sunrise Alarm is packed full of colours, light options and sounds.

It's incredibly easy to use but compared to other Lumie options, it might be too simple and the design is a little odd looking. Having said that, the Lumie Sunrise Alarm is a great device to wake up to in the mornings and wind down with in the evenings. Our tester enjoyed using as a bedside lamp but was the most impressed by the power of the light, and the fun frog, kitten and goat noises! Read our full Lumie Sunrise Alarm for more details.

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The best kids wake up light

The Hatch Baby Rest+ is our pick as the best wake up light for kids. It's also a night light, white noise machine and okay-to-wake clock (aka time-to-rise clock). And best of all, this lovely device is extremely customisable, allowing you to create schedules of sounds and lights to fit your child’s routine.

How about a soothing combination of white noise and low light to ease a small baby into waking? Or a colour-coded system that gives your toddler the green light (literally) to come and hassle you in bed only after a pre-approved wake up time? It’s all controllable from your smartphone or tablet, so if you’re getting up for an early-hours feed, or checking in to see if they’re awake, you can adjust the settings accordingly from wherever you are. No rude awakenings for them, no bumping into furniture in the dark for you.

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How to choose the best wake up light

When it comes to choosing a wake up light, it'll depend how high tech / basic you want it, and the type of features you'd like.

Fortunately (at least we think so), wake up lights are very odd looking and they all have a very similar design so in terms of looks, you'll get a similar vibe whichever you choose. Pricing is also similar, regardless of brand, but as you'd expect, the more features you want, the more expensive it'll be.

Starting with tech, wake up lights can be very basic or smart. If you love smart tech and a good app, then we'd suggest choosing a more high tech option. But if you like easy controls, then something simple to use is more up your street.

Features is also a big thing. If you wake up easy with light, then you don't need to worry about sound. But if you need some noise to wake up to, then we'd suggest one with sounds.

How we test the best wake up lights

To put together this ranking, wherever possible we call the wakeup light in and spend a couple of weeks testing it out to see how it performs. Primarily we look at how effective it is at that soothing wakeup process, including the different light and sounds functions and customisation options. We'll also consider other features such as evening modes and radio, as well as how easy the setup and use is (this is an area where things can get fiddly). Finally, we'll look at the design – how smart it's going to look on a bedside table, and whether it feels high quality or not.

In the cases where we haven't been able to get hold of a product, but feel it's worthy of inclusion, we research what other customers and reviewers have said, and combine that with what we know about the market to put together an informed blurb for you to base your decision off. Find out more about how we test at T3.

FAQs

What is a wake up light?

A wake up light or sunrise alarm clock is a handy device that mimics the natural sunrise and light to gently wake you up in the morning. It does this by gradually increasing its brightness over a period of time, typically between 30 - 60 minutes.

To use a wake up light, you treat it like you would an alarm clock. So, if you set your wake up light to wake you up at 7am and want it to brighten for half an hour, it'll start brightening at 6:30 and reach its full brightness at 7am.

Some wake up lights come with multiple colours and even sounds if you need some extra help waking up. They can also be used in the evening to help you unwind at night by decreasing the brightness before you go to bed.

What is the difference between a wake up light and SAD lamp?

Wake up lights and SAD lamps often get confused but it's important to remember that SAD lamps can act as wake up lights but wake up lights can't act as SAD lamps.

As explained above, a wake up light gradually brightens to wake you up in the morning. In comparison, SAD lamps are designed for those who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. These lamps act as light therapy to help those who experience SAD get a good amount of light intake to help with symptoms.

For more information, see signs you might be suffering from SAD.

Reviewer panel

Beth Girdler-Maslen

Beth Girdler-Maslen is T3's Home Editor. As author of this guide, Beth Girdler-Maslen has tried plenty of wake up lights, including models from Lumie, Philips Hue, and Philips.

Lizzie Wilmot

As T3's Home Writer, Lizzie Wilmot has tried plenty of wellness products, including mattresses, health kits and wake up lights. She was a big fan of the Momcozy Sunrise Wake Up Light which features in this guide.

Ruth Hamilton

Ruth Hamilton is Homes Editor at TechRadar and previously worked as T3's Outdoor and Wellness Editor. She's tested many wake up lights and is a big fan of Lumie.

Tom May

Tom May is a freelance writer and author of the book, Great Ted Talks: Creativity. For T3, he covers sleep and has tested mattresses, duvets, pillows and wake up lights.